Google Ads Integration

Connect your Google Ads account to ILLIXIS for retargeting, prospecting, and performance tracking. ILLIXIS creates Display and Search campaigns, syncs audiences from GA4, uploads banner creatives, and pulls back metrics like impressions, clicks, conversions, and ROAS.

What It Does

The Google Ads integration serves two purposes. First, it reads performance data from your existing campaigns so you can see audience-level metrics in the Attribution Dashboard without leaving ILLIXIS. Second, it creates new campaigns directly in your Google Ads account, including Display retargeting campaigns that target your content readers and Search prospecting campaigns that target keywords identified by ILLIXIS intelligence.

Audiences flow from ILLIXIS through GA4 into Google Ads. When ILLIXIS builds a topic cluster audience from your content readers, that audience syncs to your linked GA4 property, then becomes available in Google Ads as a targeting option. This means you do not upload customer lists to Google Ads directly. GA4 acts as the bridge.

The service also pulls keyword-level data and search term reports from your paid campaigns. This feeds into the Paid-to-Organic Intelligence feature, which identifies high-performing paid keywords that could become organic content opportunities.

Prerequisites

| Requirement | Details |
|-------------|---------|
| Google Ads account | Any active account. Format: 123-456-7890 (10 digits). |
| Google account access | The Google account you sign in with must have admin or standard access to the Google Ads account. |
| GA4 property connected | Required for audience syncing. Connect GA4 first at Settings > Integrations > GA4. |
| Google Ads Developer Token | Configured by ILLIXIS in environment variables. No action needed from you. |
| Conversion tracking (optional) | Install Google Ads conversion tag or import GA4 conversions for bid optimization. |

Connecting Your Account

Step 1: Start OAuth

Go to Settings > Integrations. Scroll to the Advertising section and find the Google Ads card. Click "Connect."

ILLIXIS redirects you to Google's sign-in page. Sign in with the Google account that has access to your Google Ads account.

Step 2: Grant Permission

Google asks you to grant ILLIXIS access to your Google Ads data. The scope requested is adwords, which covers both read and write access to campaign management.

Click "Allow."

Step 3: Select Your Account

After authorization, ILLIXIS shows a list of Google Ads accounts accessible to your Google account. If you manage multiple accounts (or use a Manager Account), you may see several options.

Select the account you want to connect. The Customer ID is displayed in 123-456-7890 format.

If the account list is empty (this can happen if the Developer Token is still in test mode), you can enter your Customer ID manually. Find it in Google Ads under the account name in the top navigation.

Step 4: GA4 Auto-Link

ILLIXIS automatically links your Google Ads connection to your GA4 property if one is already connected. This link enables audience correlation: audiences built in GA4 become available as targeting options in Google Ads campaigns created through ILLIXIS.

You can verify the link on the integrations page. The Google Ads card shows "Linked GA4: [property name]" when the link is active.

Manager Account (MCC) Support

If you use a Google Ads Manager Account (MCC) to manage multiple client accounts, provide the Manager Customer ID during setup. ILLIXIS passes this as the login_customer_id when making API calls, which is required by Google for MCC-based access.

| Field | When to Use |
|-------|-------------|
| Customer ID | Always required. The specific ad account where campaigns run. |
| Manager Customer ID | Only if you access the ad account through an MCC. Leave blank for direct access. |

To check if you need the Manager ID: sign in to Google Ads. If you see an account selector at the top with multiple accounts, you are using an MCC. The MCC's own Customer ID is the Manager Customer ID.

How Audiences Flow: ILLIXIS to GA4 to Google Ads

Audiences do not go directly from ILLIXIS to Google Ads. The pipeline is:

1. ILLIXIS creates topic cluster audiences from your content readers (e.g., "Marathon Training Readers" or "Product Comparison Visitors").
2. Audiences sync to GA4 as Custom Audiences via the GA4 connection.
3. Google Ads imports audiences from GA4 automatically when the two are linked in Google's ecosystem.
4. ILLIXIS targets those audiences when creating Display or Search campaigns.

This means your GA4 connection must be active and authorized. If GA4 is disconnected, audiences cannot reach Google Ads.

Estimated Audience Size

When ILLIXIS creates an audience, it estimates the size based on GA4 user data (size for Display and size for Search). These estimates appear on the audience detail page in Advertising.

Google Ads requires a minimum audience size of 100 users for Display campaigns and 1,000 users for Search campaigns. If your audience is below these thresholds, the campaign will not deliver.

Campaign Types

Display / Remarketing Campaigns

ILLIXIS creates Display campaigns for retargeting your website visitors. These are Responsive Display Ads that run across Google's Display Network (2+ million websites and apps).

What ILLIXIS handles:

• Creates the campaign with a daily budget (default $10/day, adjustable)
• Creates an ad group within the campaign
• Uploads your banner images as Google Ads assets
• Builds Responsive Display Ads with your headlines (up to 5, max 30 characters) and descriptions (up to 5, max 90 characters)
• Adds audience targeting to the ad group using your GA4 audience

Campaigns are created in a Paused state. You must manually enable them in Google Ads or through ILLIXIS after reviewing the setup.

Search / Prospecting Campaigns

ILLIXIS creates Search campaigns for reaching new customers. These are keyword-targeted campaigns that show text ads on Google Search results.

Available bidding strategies:

| Strategy | Best For |
|----------|----------|
| Maximize Clicks | Driving traffic, early-stage testing |
| Maximize Conversions | Lead generation with conversion tracking |
| Target CPA | Controlling cost per acquisition (default $10) |

Search campaigns target the Google Search Network and Search Partners by default, with the content network disabled.

Full Retargeting Campaign (One-Click)

The full retargeting workflow handles the entire setup in one operation:

1. Creates a Display campaign with your budget
2. Creates an ad group
3. Uploads all your banner images as assets
4. Creates a Responsive Display Ad with your copy
5. Adds audience targeting if you provide a user list ID

This is the workflow triggered when you click "Launch Campaign" from an audience detail page in Advertising.

Performance Tracking

Attribution Dashboard

Go to Advertising > Performance to see the Attribution Dashboard. If your Google Ads connection is active, the dashboard shows:

• Aggregate metrics: Total impressions, clicks, cost, conversions, conversion value, CTR, CPC, and ROAS across all audiences
• Per-audience breakdown: Each audience listed with its own metrics, sorted by conversion value (highest first)
• Daily time series: Impressions, clicks, cost, and conversions by day for trend visualization

The dashboard filters by date range. Metrics are pulled from the campaign_audience_view resource in Google Ads, which provides audience-level attribution.

Keyword Performance

ILLIXIS pulls keyword-level data from your Search campaigns, including:

• Keyword text and match type (Exact, Phrase, Broad)
• Campaign and ad group names
• Impressions, clicks, cost, conversions, conversion value
• Average CPC, CTR, and conversion rate

Keywords with fewer than 10 clicks are excluded by default to focus on statistically meaningful data.

Search Terms Report

Beyond your configured keywords, ILLIXIS also fetches the actual search queries that triggered your ads. These are the real user queries, often more granular and long-tail than your keyword list. This data feeds into content intelligence to identify organic content opportunities.

Token Management

Google Ads uses OAuth 2.0 with refresh tokens.

| Token Type | Validity | Behavior |
|------------|----------|----------|
| Access token | ~1 hour | Used for API calls. Refreshed automatically before expiry. |
| Refresh token | Long-lived (no fixed expiry) | Stored securely. Used to obtain new access tokens. |

Automatic Refresh

ILLIXIS checks token validity before every API call, with a 5-minute buffer. If the access token is expired or about to expire, ILLIXIS uses the refresh token to obtain a new access token from Google's OAuth endpoint. This happens transparently; you do not need to take any action.

When Re-Authorization Is Required

Re-authorization is needed if:

• You revoke ILLIXIS access from your Google account security settings
• The refresh token is invalidated by Google (rare, but can happen if you change your password or revoke all app access)
• You disconnect and reconnect the integration

To re-authorize: go to Settings > Integrations > Google Ads and click "Connect" again. ILLIXIS preserves your existing connection record and campaigns; only the OAuth tokens are refreshed.

Disconnecting

Click "Disconnect" on the Google Ads integration card. This clears your OAuth tokens and marks the connection as inactive, but preserves the connection record and any campaign references. If you reconnect later, ILLIXIS reactivates the existing connection rather than creating a new one.

Automation Schedule

ILLIXIS automatically syncs Google Ads data on a regular schedule:

| Data Type | Frequency | Timing |
|-----------|-----------|--------|
| Audience Performance Metrics | Every 6 hours | 12:00 AM, 6:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 6:00 PM UTC |
| Keyword Performance | Daily | 6:00 AM UTC |
| Search Terms Report | Daily | 6:00 AM UTC |
| Campaign Summary | Daily | 6:00 AM UTC |

What this means for you:

• Morning dashboards: By 6:00 AM UTC, your performance data is current. Check campaigns after this time for the most accurate daily view.
• Intraday updates: Audience metrics refresh every 6 hours. If you launch a new campaign, you will see initial data within 6 hours.
• Manual refresh: If you need immediate data, go to the Attribution Dashboard and click "Refresh Metrics" to pull current data outside the automated schedule.

Troubleshooting

"Google Ads not connected"

Cause: No active, authorized connection exists for your account.

Fix:

1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Google Ads
2. Click "Connect" and complete the OAuth flow
3. Select your Google Ads account when prompted

"Failed to refresh Google Ads access token. Please re-authorize."

Cause: The refresh token is no longer valid. This happens if you revoked ILLIXIS access from your Google account, changed your Google password, or if Google invalidated the token.

Fix:

1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Google Ads
2. Click "Disconnect" then "Connect" again
3. Complete the OAuth flow to obtain a new refresh token

"Google Ads Developer Token not configured"

Cause: The developer token environment variable is missing. This is an ILLIXIS infrastructure issue, not something you configure.

Fix: Contact support. The developer token must be set in the ILLIXIS environment variables.

"Invalid Customer ID format"

Cause: The Customer ID entered is not a valid 10-digit number.

Fix: Enter your Customer ID in 123-456-7890 format (or as 10 consecutive digits). Find it in Google Ads in the top navigation bar next to your account name.

Audience size too small for campaigns

Cause: Your GA4 audience has fewer than 100 users (Display) or 1,000 users (Search).

Fix:

1. Wait for more website traffic to build the audience
2. Broaden your content targeting to capture more readers
3. Check that your GA4 property is actively tracking users

Campaign created but not delivering

Cause: Campaigns are created in Paused status by default.

Fix:

1. Go to Google Ads and find the campaign created by ILLIXIS
2. Change the status from Paused to Enabled
3. Verify the daily budget is sufficient (Google recommends 10x your target CPA)
4. Check for any ad disapprovals

Metrics show zero despite active campaigns

Cause: Data sync may be delayed, or the audience view has no matching data for the selected date range.

Fix:

1. Verify the date range covers the period when campaigns were active
2. Wait for the next automated sync (every 6 hours for audience metrics)
3. Check that your campaigns have actual impressions in Google Ads directly

Related Guides

• Advertising -- Overview of the full Advertising and all supported platforms
• GA4 Integration -- Connecting your GA4 property (required for audience syncing)
• Prospecting Campaigns -- Creating Search campaigns to reach new customers
• GA4 Audiences -- How audiences are built in GA4 and synced to ad platforms
• YouTube Demand Gen -- Running video ad campaigns on YouTube through Google Ads